Most everyone has probably heard a pop singer perform that classic jazz number "Summertime." But did you know that the tune originally came from an opera? Considering that the composer George Gershwin was a man who moved easily between popular and classical musical genres (making life difficult for those music historians who try to categorize his work today), the versatility of this tune is not so remarkable. But just what was this opera that supplied the music world with such a good tune?
"Summertime" comes from Porgy and Bess, an opera based on the book Porgy by DuBose Heyward, who also wrote the libretto. The opera tells the tale of Porgy, a crippled African-American, and Bess, the woman he loves. Like most serious operas, the tale ends tragically: Bess runs after another man who treats her poorly and the story closes with Porgy embarking on a forlorn (but perhaps hopeful) search for his lost love. Finished in 1935, Porgy and Bess was performed with an all African-American cast. When the tour ran across the segregation policies of Washington, D.C. theaters, the cast objected: the opera then became the first performance for an integrated audience at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Much controversy surrounds Porgy and Bess, since it purports to be an "authentic" portrayal of the African-American folk tradition and yet was written by a Jewish composer. The lyrics make the characters out to be uneducated and conniving. Also, its incorporation of folk idioms made the work extremely hard to categorize. The vocal technique and instrumentation of the original were definitely in line with classical opera traditions. "Summertime" in its original setting sounds very much like an aria from a Copland-esque landscape, very far removed from the jazz band instruments that normally accompany it today. However, the opera allowed opportunities for African-Americans to break into classical music performance (a field which was very limited to them at the time), and if taken with a grain of salt, Porgy and Bess is an enjoyable listen.
Recommended listening: Porgy and Bess: The Original Cast Recording. Anne Brown sings the part of Bess. Todd Duncan performs Porgy.
